Write a 1500-1800 word paper (around 5-6 pages) analyzing ONE of the following poems:
• “Haunted Sonnet,” by Hoa Nguyen
• “Infinity Ghazal Beginning with Lice and Never Ending with Lies,” Tarfia Faizullah
• “Let Me Count the Waves,” Sandra Beasley (sestina)
• “Saturday at the Border,” Hayden Carruth (villanelle)
• “Parent’s Pantoum,” Carolyn Kizer (pantoum)
As your previous paper, this paper should develop a clear and complex thesis about the relation between form and content in the poem, this time taking special note of the relationship between the poem and a traditional form. In other words, how do the various literary devices used in the poem, including the conventions of the traditional form the poet adheres or alludes to (such as sonnet, sestina, villanelle, etc.) shape the content and meaning of the poem? How do the form and content of the poem work together to create a greater, more complex and layered meaning? These interactions may be quite complicated, sometimes seemingly even working against each other. For example, a poet may write a sonnet, but break its rules.
As you work on the poem, make notes on how the poem is written, considering especially the literary terms we have considered in class. Your final essay should engage with relevant literary devices in the poem, describing their appearance, analyzing how they work, and integrating them into your larger argument. Your essay should also integrate a limited amount of research, see below. Each step in your paper should fit into a larger whole, and advance the course of your argument.
